Ten years ago Polish politicians shelved a silly suggestion that Jesus should be crowned king of this overwhelmingly Catholic country. But this week his enthonement went ahead in Krakow at the Church of Divine Mercy.
According to this report, the coronation took place in the presence of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and many pilgrims.
The idea of the coronation of Jesus surfaced in the first half of the twentieth century. Polish nurse Rosalia Zelkova allegedly heard voices that told her that Jesus had listed a set of demands, one of which was to made king of Poland. It was a necessary condition for the salvation of the country in the upcoming war.
A decade ago, the BBC reported that a bill to make Jesus king was kicked into the long grass, despite the face that 46 – 10 percent of the lower house – signed the bill.
If it had become law, Jesus would have followed the path of the Virgin Mary, who was declared honorary queen of Poland by King John Casimir 350 years ago.
The motion had been been backed by MPs from the far right League of Polish families (LPR), the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and the Peasants’ Party (PSL).
They argued Jesus should be made King on both theological and historical grounds.
PiS deputy Artur Gorski said colleagues were:

Praying in the parliamentary chapel for Jesus’ coronation.

But Monsignor Tadeusz Pieronek, a member of Poland’s Episcopate and rector at Krakow’s Papal Academy of Theology, dismissed the move.

Christ doesn’t need a parliamentary resolution to be the king of our hearts.These lawmakers would do better to look after their constitutional prerogatives and let religious institutions and the Church do our work.

Since then, the politicians and the Episcopate appear to have had a change of heart.
A wee spat has now erupted on Reddit Catholicism, where one commenter, “Turbolamer”, pointed out that the report of Jesus being made King of Poland originated from Gazeta.pl, and is a lie:

Gazeta.pl is a left-wing, anti-church news source. I’m not 100% sure but I think the statement ‘King of Poland’ is false and misleading. The event seems to be about accepting him ‘as a King’, not ‘as a King of Poland.

“Turbolamer” provided a more reliable link to the Episcopate’s own statement regarding the matter.
Zenon Czosnek hit back, saying that the Episcopate statement reads :

We profess in face of God and Earth, that we need your rule. We profess, that you and only you have holy rights to us that never expired. Therefore with humility we bend our heads to you, The Lord of the Universe, and we recognize your rule over Poland and our whole nation, that lives in the motherland and away in the wide world.Hereby Poland in 1050 anniversary of it’s baptism, solemnly recognized the rule of Jesus Christ.

Czosnek added:

So your claim that Gazeta.pl is lying about Jesus being officially recognized as King of Poland is quite hard to defend … in this case, there is nothing wrong with that news item. Jesus was officially recognized as King of Poland, and Episcopate has changed opinion about that in recent years, probably due to the fact that the idea became quite popular amongst part of Polish Catholics, and nobody in Poland cares about people who are non-Catholics.

As for example, I happen to be a non-Catholic, and while I consider the whole affair to be little ridiculous, this is my private opinion and I don’t try to impose it on others. But I am not happy that someone thinks it’s appropriate to act on my behalf and recognizing a rule of anyone over me or my country.I do believe that Catholic Church has too much influence in Poland as it is, and I am not happy about it.The only comfort is the fact that … the plan will only work if the recognition of Jesus as King of Poland will be supported by ‘complete rejection of sin and turning towards God’, and I am not planning on any of such things. So sorry for spoiling your cunning plan, but, let me quote a classic on that, ‘I didn’t vote for him’.

Mind you, it’s always good to have a monarch with absolutely no power.

bill

Oh he has power … real power … over the minds of millions of stupefied brainwashed and coerced Poles. Biblical figures,although mythical, infect the minds of the gullible and downtrodden.

claxa

I think even Jesus won’t cope with my country. We can expect his resignation quite soon.

L.Long

I would say this is really silly as when jesus gives a direct order then we can follow it. But really when any king in history gave an order, you only hear about it thru his cronies and not by direct command, so like king orders we will take the cronies word for it being genuine. So no real difference.

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel (Boswell/Johnson), and nationalism and religion (or, in its absence, political ideology) are its pillars. Scoundrels all over the world are appealing to patriotism in support of their fascistic ideals, and Europe is fast heading back to the 1930s.

Paul

Assuming jesus was real only for the purposes of this comment in this report, isn’t he dead? So what is he monarch over?
These people really ought to be locked up.

Denis Watkins

They get Jesus for free. With us. her religious majesty is shafting us for £350 million to upgrade her pad.

Gary

And we are going to get the very real bat eared and chinless intellectual and moral coward Charlie Windsor. What a depressing prospect. And why couldn’t the extremely weathlty Winsors fund their own home improvements like the rest of us. Actually not like the rest of us because we paid for our houses, that is those of us lucky enough to be able to do so, but the Windsors pass down a multitude of fabulous properties paid for by the blood sweat and tears of citizens of the U.K. and by colonial exploitation.

barriejohn

Gary:The Crown has a legal tax-exempt status because certain acts of parliament do not apply to it. Crown bodies such as The Duchy of Lancaster are not subject to legislation concerning income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax. Furthermore, the Sovereign has no legal liability to pay such taxes. The Duchy of Cornwall has a Crown exemption and the Prince of Wales is not legally liable to pay income tax on Duchy revenues.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finances_of_the_British_Royal_Family#Taxation
Nice work if you can get it.

Clive

I noticed that Jesus isn’t wearing his ‘Crown of Thorns’ in the picture. Haven’t there been reported rumours, subsequently denied, about him having been the ‘King’ of somewhere else, in the past ?

StephenJP

This is a really bizarre story. From what has so far been published,it is hard to understand the motivation of those who are pushing the proposal. Poland has been fought over, occupied, dismembered and had its borders rearranged countless times over the past 1000 years or so: this is what happens to countries without natural boundaries (cf. OT Israel). In the absence of reliable, survivable secular government, it is maybe understandable that people should choose to put their trust in an institution that seemed to have some divine sanction.
But we possibly forget that the old Poland also had a very different cultural tradition: that of the old Jewish settlements,destroyed not just by the Nazis but by a faction of the Poles themselves, including the RC zealots. The RC culture is now increasingly popular in Poland, and this latest move surely cannot be good news for secularists and non-catholics.

I went to Torun, home of Copernicus, in Poland recently. Beautiful place, a World Heritage Site. And on nearly every block there was a colossal Catholic edifice. Seemingly dozens of cathedrals and churches, or as I think of them, indoctrination, coercion, blackmailing and money extracting centres. But God did not save the Poles from Nazi atrocities and cruelties did he. No, he fucking didn’t. Was that because he was on Hitlers team as was the then pope?

John

Gary: don’t forget what was on the Wehrmacht belt buckle: “Gott Mit/t Uns” or God With Us in English.
No wonder the Nazis were able to roll over Poland within a very short time – leaving aside the fact that the Nazis launched a pre-emptive strike first, had superior technology and were ably supported by the Soviet Union under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
I have young Polish friends who are very concerned that post-Brexit they might be forced to return to Poland.
Now I see the real reason for their concern, particularly as they are culturally Jewish.

Seff

The New Pentecost is at hand. The Almighty God has prepared the grand soul-saving plan. First the humanity will be affected by a big number of disasters. There are local prophesies which even say that there will be no more Germans left as leaves under an oak tree in autumn. Only countries which proclaim Jesus the King will be saved from total annihilation. Afterwards people are going to see a clear sign of Cross in the sky. Each and every person will see his/her deeds as they are in the full light of truth. Hundreds of millions of people will come back to Jesus Christ. After separating the wheat from the chaff there will be 1000 years of peace on Earth.

sailor1031

So when “jesus” has orders to give, rules to make and laws to promulgate to whom does he communicate them? and how? by revelation to some archbishop? by voices to some nurse? by vision to some religious maniac politician? Sounds to me like this is all about someone gaining sneaky power.

Seff

“… soon there shall be the fall of the civilization of death which is to be accomplished through the revelation of the glory of My Son, and the power of devil shall be overcome….”
Black Madonna the Queen of Poland revealed twice on 15th of August 1920 in the suburbs of Warsaw causing havoc and distress among the Red Army. She was seen by hundreds of Soviet soldiers. Despite this obvious fact Polish free masons who governed this country before the WWII heavely opposed the proclamation Jesus the King. Homosexuality caused the fall of the Roman Empire, abortion led to annihilation Warsaw in 1944. Refusal to solemn proclamation Jesus the King backfired in heaviest casualties among civilians of all European countries.
Regardlessly you are believer or not you are going to stand the trial of LOVE after leaving your fragile human body. Once you were created you live forever.
By the way the Miracle of the Sun which took place on 13.10.1917 in Portugal in Fatima was seen by over half million of people.

barriejohn

The Pope only found it in himself to start speaking up for the Jews when Hitler’s invasion of Russia hit the buffers, and after the defeat at el Alamein. How strange. Up till then, he advised them to “bear adversity with serene patience” (how encouraging), and informed Petain that deportations were OK as long as they were carried out with “charity” and “justice” (as if he were an uninformed ingenue). He was well aware of all that was going on – much better informed than other European political leaders – but still claimed that it was impossible to verify rumors about crimes committed against the Jews. ” Rumours”, indeed!http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/pius.html

disappointed

I’m disappointed that you call yourself “The Freethinker” but post an editorialized title and later in the body can’t make logical conclusions.
At one point you say “If it had become law, Jesus would have followed the path of the Virgin Mary”. So, did it become law?
You conclude by quoting “Jesus was officially recognized as King of Poland”, but by whom? The Episcopate? Do they have any governing power in Poland?

John

Seff:
There are numerous examples of mass insanity in history – some of which you cite.
Temporary insanity is a legal defence, is it not?
We will all have to assume the Polish people – or, at least, that element within it that subscribes to such nonsense – has the self-same defence for itself.
Bringing religion into it only makes it worse for them.

John

Seff:
Your comment which begins ‘The New Pentecost is at hand.’ represents the absolute ravings of a lunatic.
You need to get out into the real world more often.

barriejohn

John: Jesus is going to descend to earth with thousands of his angels, in clouds of glory; fight a big battle with the forces of the Antichrist; lock up Satan for 1,000 years while he rules the earth; and millions of people will then “believe on him”. That would be true faith, would it, which is belief in something without evidence of its truth or existence? The purveyors of this nonsense are too blind to see the glaring inconsistencies in fairy stories written for the benefit of primitive people two thousand years ago!

John

With regard to the Vatican attitude towards Jews: ‘Until 1948 the Pope was motivated by the traditional Vatican opposition to Zionism. Vatican opposition to a Jewish homeland stemmed largely from theological doctrines regarding Judaism.[40] In 1904, the Zionist leader Theodor Herzl obtained an audience with Pope Pius X in the hope of persuading the pontiff to support the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The pope’s response was: “Non possumus”–“We cannot.” In 1917, Pius X’s successor, Pope Benedict XV, equally refused to support any concept for a Jewish state. Minerbi writes that when a League of Nations mandate were being proposed for Palestine, the Vatican was disturbed by the prospect of a (Protestant) British mandate over the Holy Land, but a Jewish state was anathema to it.[27][41]
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See%E2%80%93Israel_relations.
Another Pope was appalled at the prospect of Jews having any involvement in Christian places of worship, calling the Jews “infidels”.

Paul

Seff
Please let us know exactly where in any authentic contemporary source – one even- just one- and not the babble as that isn’t a contemporary source – of any reference to someone called Jesus. Or Christ.
Have you read the Epic of Gilgamesh – I recommend it.

Mark

Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. I don’t have a problem with this statement. However I have some doubts if the attitude of the current government in Poland, and generally people that support this resolution, reflects Jesus teaching to love your neighbor as yourself.

James

Paul – you are not an atheist – you are a Freemason – the Epic of Gilgamesh is one book among masonic circles

Magdalena

Poland didn’t change Constitution and Episcopate always use metaphore and big words to describe such events. Stop being silly. And it was mostly about religion so if catholics from Poland feel like they have some moral backup because their God was made King, whats your problem? It’s honorific tititle. Nobody’s asking Jesus questions about matters of state:)

John

Magdalena:
I have some young Jewish friends who are from Poland.
When I sent them the link to this article they were astonished and downright fearful of the direction that Poland is going in.
Poland is seemingly turning into a country where religious bigotry is becoming the norm.
What does this mean for people who do not subscribe to catholicism?
Will Poland end up with one set of laws for catholics and another set of laws for protestants, jews and secular individuals?
It has been like that in the past.
Is Poland going backwards into the future?

Paul

James
Am I? Oh I didn’t realise why I had an apron and cucumber in my wardrobe. If you know me – which you don’t that’s a bad call. And quite funny. So ought I to put you on the sea beach into the sand at low tide and see what happens.
And if you knew anything about freemaonry you’ll understand that it only began about 250 or so years ago in Scotland and the links to the alleged Solomon etc are as good as the links of jesus all the way back to David and Abraham. And it’s nothing whatsoever to do with Gilgamesh. Lmao!
It’s the oldest writing in the world and the reference if you would care to read it is the Rip off of the so called biblical flood. And Noah.
Enjoy it – it is a beautiful poem. And is it a book- I thought factually it’s written on tablets.

Katrin

No one is immortal and this world is only an illusion and bridge to the real world where we gonna see reality as it is.
If intronization of Jesus to the king of Poland is not imaginable and perceived as a weird act… Why massive abortions, legal marriages of gays, perversion shown in mass medias and much more –> all this in the name of so-called human freedom is not negated and not proclaimed as evil in public?
You don’t see the beam in your eye and in other nations you dare to see the speck.
Poland is not the only nation in the world and in the history which proclaimed the Jesus and Mary Mother of Jesus as those who reign.
Look at your country where you let Muslims in and you let destroy your churches, faith of ancestors and you no longer believe in God because there is no longer space for God but for political correctness.

To Paul:
“You will keep on hearing,but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull”
To the rest:
The information concerning the Proclamation Christ the King of Poland is not complete. In this historical event also took part THE POLISH GOVERNMENT HEADED BY BEATA SZYDLO,THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT and tens of thousands of pilgrims from Poland and abroad.

barriejohn

I see that Seff is another expert at avoiding the question completely – just like our old friend Bob!

Broga

Seff: You will keep on hearing what is not there to be heard ; understanding what is not there to be understood; seeing what is not there to be seen; perceiving what is not there to be perceived; for you have become deluded.

CoastalMaineBird

If he is king now, then wasn’t he king in 1939?
Seems there was some trouble there in 1939 and he did nothing about it.

Paul

Barriejohn and Broga- Seff might be Bobs imaginary friend.
Seff – amazingly poor reply as of course you ignored the question. That is odd as surley you can see, you can hear you have the knowledge – and you have such an all powerful creator and ‘lover’ and guide and ‘friend’- so provide the evidence. It cannot be that difficult can it – if it exists.

Angela_K

@Paul. Seff is now trolling old threads on the FT, he is clearly deluded and mistakenly believes by posting his nonsense that he will somehow convert us to his brand of christianinsanity.

Paul

Angela
I can only deal with Bob, when Barry doesn’t ban the imbecile, and the other odd bod on here.
I don’t think I wish to experience more of them on the FT as well!
One or two delusional posts a week is fine.

remigius

@Magdalena. “…so if catholics from Poland feel like they have some moral backup because their God was made King, whats your problem? ”
A god becomes a king? That sounds like a demotion.

barriejohn

Angela: Can you just imagine the excitement that they feel when they discover a new site where they can post their inane bullshit? I bet he won’t sleep tonight!

remigius

@Paul. “… it’s written on tablets.”
I think Seff’s comments were also written on tablets – antipsychotics.

Stephen Mynett

John, I also have a few friends who are Polish Jews, although they are also atheists, they are in their 30s and 40s and have always said anti-semitism has been a problem in Poland, both before and after the end of the USSR.
As for the new trolls, glad you are happy you found us, it must be a dull life when you need to search for sites like this to troll, rather than enjoying the beauty and amazement that has evolved around us over the millenia.

Cali Ron

Wouldn’t becoming the King of Poland be a demotion for the supposed almighty god, king of all that is and isn’t. I mean, it is Poland. Surely their sky fairy deserves better.
This particular thread has been quite amusing, especially seff. Hey seff, “none are so blind as those who choose not to see.” You have chosen delusion, enough said.

Kelly

It pains some people that a country makes JESUS CHRIST its king. I think these are people whose countries have pledged their elegance for devil

Patrick

As a Pole and believer I advise all to see. By officially proclaim jesus as king, Polish Future Laws will be the most revolutionary in the world. All the Capitalistic STUPIDITY of the west will hopefully be gone. And we will have a loving country like we allways have. POLES HAVE THE BIGGEST HEARTS

Paul

Patrick –
Why do you need a Non existent imaginary person as a
King.and seriously what is ‘he’ going to do?
But you Like seff can hopefully provide proof he existed – then I’m sure we would all agree with your – I have to say – presently irrational but significantly deluded – comments.

Remigius: I thought you were joking! I remember Christians who, every time the subject of elections came up, smugly announced: “Our man’s in!”. Sadly, this is all very real to them.

John

This is from a young Polish friend of mine:-
“Its sick!!
Kaczynski is implementing more and more ridiculous legislations….
On 12th Dec protests are going to be held against the government in Poland. Not sure if that could change anything but people are getting more and more pissed off.
Its so hard to understand where is all that nonsense is coming from … and why now…?”

remigius

barriejohn. I never joke when it comes to imaginary kings of Eastern European republics.

Is the conversion of Russia next ? What is Putin going to do now that there’s a kingdom next to his motherland? Will he make peace with the neighboring King? Or will he learn from his neighbors about not imposing on their Kings land ? This is amazingly brilliant who would invade the land of Jesus, the eastern or Russian church will always have to oppose any action similar to this.